Soarin

Take flight on a breathtaking journey as you soar over some of the world’s most awe-inspiring sights—from the Great Wall of China to Iguazu Falls in South America. This is your chance to experience the joy of hang gliding like never before!

“Soarin’ to tower: We are ready for takeoff!”

Perhaps it’s best to start with some clarification on the name of this attraction. At Disney California Adventure, it was first known as Soarin’ Over California, but when it was integrated into EPCOT, the name was shortened to simply Soarin’…that is until 2016 when a new version of the ride was unveiled and deemed Soarin’ Around the World…until 2023 when the original film of Soarin’ Over California returned for a limited engagement and was once again referred to as simply Soarin’. For the sake of brevity, that is the name that will be used here. Until it isn’t.

The real action is preceded by a short preshow featuring actor Patrick Warburton, who gives the standard spiel about how to buckle your seat belts and what you can and can’t have on your person during the ride.

Soarin’ is a breathtaking simulator ride made up of seats that rise and give guests an excellent view of an IMAX screen featuring the film that features gorgeous aerial footage of California shot from airplanes, helicopters, and gliders. Passengers will soar over mountains, rivers, and golf courses to name but a few, all of which culminates in a pass over Disneyland itself as fireworks close out the trip.

Behind the Schemes:

Soarin’ was a massive undertaking for Imagineers and faced numerous complications, hurdles, and roadblocks along the way. These issues included the type and shape of movie screen to use along with the film stock and ways to simulate movements during the ride. One of the biggest tasks was to create a seating system that could perform the tasks required, including simply getting guests to rise off the ground to a suitable level that made them feel airborne. This was solved by Imagineer Mark Summer, who created a miniature version of the ride system using an old Erector set he found in his home. Seats were successfully designed to tile ever-so-slightly during the “flight” so guests could truly feel like they were banking into turns and tilting upward or downward when the film called for it. With feet dangling from their seats, guests are treated to a trip so realistic that they can be forgiven for lifting their legs to avoid brushing them against objects seen on the screen.

To accommodate the crowded queues, three separate theaters have been created to keep a continuous flow moving and maximum capacity can be reached during peak times. Speaking of the queues, guests should be sure to pay attention to the music loop that plays while they wait in line. It includes songs featured in Patton, The Rocketeer, and Gustav Holst’s The Planets, among many other surprises.

In 2016, Soarin’ was converted into the new version, Soarin’ Around the World, which resulted in a clear divide in audience opinions – those who loved the new footage from places farther away than California versus a crowd clearly disappointed in the overuse of CGI images and a feeling of unfamiliarity that prohibited them from enjoying the new expanses of the journey. This is occasionally mitigated by seasonal returns of the original film which usually coincide with festivals on each coast.

Reality Check: 

Patrick Warburton has several other Disney credits under his belt, such as voicing Kronk in The Emperor’s New Groove and Buzz Lightyear on the television series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, which also featured the voice of Gary Owens who served as the narrator for EPCOT’s World of Motion before it was refurbished into Test Track. It’s a small world after all.A popular Disney urban legend is that the golfer who whacks the ball into the camera lens on Soarin’ Over California is Michael Eisner. Unfortunately, this is an apocryphal tale, but go ahead and run with it. Keep the momentum going because occasionally, it’s fun to be full of it.